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The licenses gave FTX access to U.S. commodities derivatives markets as a regulated exchange. FTX also saw its regulatory status as a way of luring new capital from major investors, the documents show. “FTX has the cleanest brand in crypto,” the exchange proclaimed in a June document presented to investors. According to the document, FTX told the regulator it did not have the same issues as products from other providers that the agency had investigated. "We confirmed these were solely rewards based and do not involve lending (or other use) of the deposited crypto," FTX wrote.

Take big law firms and Twitter. “Lawyers and law firms must struggle to stay visible, posting regularly, getting followers, and tweeting regularly. Consider, for example, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which has 1,587 Twitter followers – among the fewest of Am Law 100 firms. “To date, the firm’s social media efforts have focused on platforms that are most aligned with recruiting — LinkedIn and Instagram,” the spokesman said via email. Will law firms pony up $8 a month for the blue check now?

☆ China's super-rich see fortunes plunge as economy slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Brenda Goh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 8 (Reuters) - China's super-rich saw their wealth tumble by the most in over two decades this year, as the Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing's zero-COVID measures and falling mainland and Hong Kong stock markets pummelled fortunes, an annual rich list said on Tuesday. The Hurun Rich list, which ranks China's wealthiest people with a minimum net worth of 5 billion yuan ($692 million), said only 1,305 people made the mark this year, down 11% from last year. "This year has seen the biggest fall in the Hurun China Rich List of the last 24 years," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of research firm Hurun Report which compiles the list. The founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, took second place, but saw his wealth fall 28% to $35 billion due to a drop in ByteDance's valuation. Tencent founder Pony Ma posted the second largest drop in wealth of $14.6 billion amid sliding tech stock prices, to take fifth place on the list.

☆ Alibaba’s Jack Ma and China’s super-rich see billions wiped off fortunes as economy slows
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

China’s super-rich saw their wealth tumble by the most in over two decades this year, as the Russia-Ukraine war, Beijing’s zero-Covid measures and falling mainland and Hong Kong stock markets pummeled fortunes, according to an annual rich list. Tencent founder Pony Ma posted the second largest drop in wealth amid sliding tech stock prices. The founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, took second place, but saw his wealth fall 28% to $35 billion due to a drop in ByteDance’s valuation. Tencent (TCEHY) founder Pony Ma posted the second largest drop in wealth of $14.6 billion amid sliding tech stock prices, to take fifth place on the list. Alibaba (BABA) founder Jack Ma and his family tumbled four places to be ranked No.

☆ China's super-rich like Alibaba's Jack Ma see billions of dollars wiped from their fortunes as the economy slumps
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's super-wealthy have seen their fortunes tumble by the most in 24 years, per the Hurun Rich List. Alibaba founder Jack Ma's net worth dropped 29% to $25.7 billion, as tech bosses took a hit. His ranking on the rich list sank four places to ninth. Overall, the number of people with a net worth of $10 billion dropped by 29 to 56, while the number of dollar billionaires fell by 239 to 946. But Hoogewerf said that despite the declines, the rich list is still 50% bigger than five years ago.

☆ 11 Unique Gifts for the Mom Who Doesn’t Want Anything
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

The woman forever insisting she doesn’t need anything for the holidays, her birthday or Mother’s Day. For the mom who’s an open bookQuestions About Me Tell Me Your Life Story, Mom: A Mother’s Guided Journal and Memory Keepsake Book $10 at AmazonHere’s a way to give Mom what she really wants: a connection to you. With 200-plus thoughtful prompts and quick-hitting questions (What food do you like to have made for you when you’re sick? For the mom who’s tired of getting flowersThink of succulents as the gateway into plant parenthood. For the mom on the goThink of this elegantly shaped hat as an upgrade to her standard pony or top knot.

☆ ‘Dying Inside’: Chaos and Cruelty in Louisiana Juvenile Detention
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Megan Shutzer | Rachel Lauren Mueller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +47 min

But inside the walls at Ware, one of the state’s largest juvenile detention facilities, children have been trying to kill themselves with stunning regularity. In Louisiana, where brutal conditions prompted juvenile justice reform two decades ago, the system is again in crisis. Most Ware guards are Black, as well, though nearly all of its leaders are white, as are the local judge, sheriff and district attorney. “Of course, they still do.” In reports to the state, Ware’s nurses described carpet burns on children’s faces and head-to-toe bruises from restraints. In fact, of the four guards convicted of sexually assaulting children at Ware, Mr. Peace would be the only one imprisoned.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the two cases on Monday, with rulings due by the end of June. Blum's goal is for the Supreme Court to overturn its own precedents allowing race as a factor in admissions. Blum raised more than $8 million from 2015 to 2020 for Students for Fair Admissions, most going to covering legal fees. No Students for Fair Admissions members served as plaintiffs or testified in court in the Harvard and UNC cases as the group lost in lower courts. The Supreme Court in January agreed to hear appeals backed by Blum in both cases.

☆ Brands have fled Kanye. What about his music career?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Frank Pallotta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — has lost partnerships with fashion brands including Gap, Balenciaga and Adidas following his antisemitic comments in recent weeks. But what does this all mean for Ye’s music career? A career in two partsYe, formerly known as Kanye West, has had a lucrative music career. Will Spotify and Apple Music pull Ye’s music? One area that could see a financial impact for both Ye and Universal Music Group is the licensing of his music.

☆ China's richest people lost about $13 billion in just one day due to a market sell-off after President Xi Jinping secured a third term
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The 13 richest people in China lost $12.7 billion on Monday alone, per Bloomberg. Their losses were due to a massive market sell-off over President Xi Jinping's third term in office. Tencent founder and CEO, Pony Ma, was the biggest loser in the market rout, as his net worth plunged by $2.5 billion to $24 billion, per Bloomberg. Alibaba founder Jack Ma lost $1.2 billion, bringing his net worth down to $29 billion, while JD.com's Richard Liu saw his net worth fall by $1.3 billion to $9 billion, according to Bloomberg. Alibaba shares fell 13% on the Nasdaq and 11% in Hong Kong.

☆ Beware of fad stocks. Truly owner, Snap & Zoom have plunged
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Paul R. La Monica | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The Sam Adams brewer, which also owns the hard seltzer brand Truly, is struggling as the popularity of alcoholic seltzer appears to be fading fast. “The continuing decline of the hard seltzer segment … is deeper than previously expected,” said Boston Beer founder and chairman Jim Koch on the company’s earnings call in July. Sam Adams owner Boston Beer made a big bet on Truly Hard Seltzer. Sales have slowed, the company is still losing money, its founders have left, and the stock has plunged nearly 80% this year. E-signature software company DocuSign (DOCU) and virtual health company Teladoc (TDOC) have also plunged this year after getting huge boosts from Covid in 2020.

☆ Hasbro delivers dour quarter as higher prices cool demand
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Granth Vanaik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 18 (Reuters) - Hasbro Inc (HAS.O) missed quarterly profit estimates on Tuesday as the company's move to raise prices to offset surging commodity costs led inflation-weary customers to buy fewer toys and games. "There is still indications of fairly strong demand for toys," Linda Bolton Weiser, analyst at D.A. Still, Hasbro saw its net revenue fall 15% to $1.68 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 25, partly dented by a stronger dollar. Shares of the 'Magic: The Gathering' maker were down about 2% in morning trading. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hasbro revenue meets expectations but earnings miss as inflation squeezes shoppers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Jack Stebbins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hasbro reported earnings Tuesday morning that fell below analysts' expectations as inflation weighed on consumers. The toy maker faced tough comparisons in the third quarter, but surging prices added to the pressure. Revenue fell 15% compared to the period last year, led by a 35% decrease in entertainment revenue. "Magic: The Gathering" is a digital and trading card game that has grown into the company's first $1 billion brand. The 30th anniversary of the game occurs in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.

☆ UK pensions: There's no quick fix for the market mess
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Almost 20 days after Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng unveiled his much-criticized plan to jumpstart the economy, sparking an investor revolt, the UK bond market and the British pound remain under huge stress — despite three emergency interventions by the central bank. The country’s central bank is in a difficult position. It’s trying to restore the UK government’s lost credibility in markets, though its toolkit isn’t designed for this kind of effort. “Investment consultants are working feverishly.”Ongoing volatility in the bond market is further complicating those efforts, as rising yields once again put hedging strategies at risk. Yet as bond yields keep rallying, not everyone is convinced that approach makes sense.

☆ Uber's chief incrementalist: Sundeep Jain is a divisive leader who shuns flying cars in favor of a steady march toward 'super app' status.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Tom Dotan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Instead, Jain has overseen the introduction of add-on features to Uber's app, such as rental car bookings and party buses leasing. "Spending a half billion a year on flying cars doesn't make sense for the type of business we are," said one current Uber executive. "I don't think innovative people want to work for a non-innovative product leader," said one former Uber executive. "Under Sundeep's leadership the product team has shipped more products, to more users, than ever before," a spokesperson told Insider. That's two billion dollars," a current Uber product executive said.

☆ 'Sharks circling in the water': Contentious cram-down rounds are coming and going to dilute startup shareholders. Founders and investors should be wary.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Funding rounds are set to become more contentious; "knives tend to come out," said one investor. Having been in the VC game for more than 25 years, he knows what inevitably follows periods of irrational exuberance: cram downs. A cram-down round refers to a situation in which a company raises money at terms favorable to new investors, at the expense of current shareholders. In good times, when valuations are going up and VCs have money to spare, exercising pro rata rights is usually a no-brainer. The investors that step up to fill that void — usually late-stage VC growth funds or strategic investors — often demand terms that severely dilute or "cram down" the shares of existing shareholders.

☆ The econ Nobel offers a timely warning about central banks’ power
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN Business —The Nobel in economics is sort of the step-cousin of the Nobel family. Some scholars really dislike the economics prize, including one of Nobel’s own descendants, who dismissed it as a “PR coup by economists.”But hey, it still comes with a cash prize. In short, his work demonstrates that banks’ failures are often a cause, not merely a consequence, of financial crises. The Nobel committee has been known to play politics (see: that time Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after being in office for just eight months). And right now, it is using its spotlight to call attention to the high-stakes gamble playing out at central banks around the world, most notably the Fed.

☆ How a sleepy corner of the market nearly triggered a meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-08 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

London CNN Business —Pension funds are designed to be dull. The scale of the tumult put enormous pressure on many pension funds by upending an investing strategy that involves the use of derivatives to hedge their bets. “It started to feed itself,” said Ben Gold, head of investment at XPS Pensions Group, a UK pensions consultancy. Yields on longer-term bonds have dropped sharply, giving pension funds time to recoup — though they’ve recently started to rise again. Still, Kenneth is concerned that if the program ends next week as scheduled, the task won’t be complete given the complexity of many pension funds.

Over the last decade, the rise of internet giants like Tencent (0700.HK) exposed the flimsiness of the stereotype. “Influence Empire: Inside the Story of Tencent and China’s Tech Ambition” by Lulu Yilun Chen tracks the company’s evolution into a $350 billion social media and gaming behemoth. The backlash also undermined confidence in China’s private tech sector. U.S. venture capital investment has dwindled, and even Chinese tech investors are now venturing abroad. Follow @ywchen1 on TwitterCONTEXT NEWS“Influence Empire: Inside the Story of Tencent and China’s Tech Ambition”, by Lulu Yilun Chen, was published by Hodder & Stoughton on July 14.

☆ We see two reasons for Nvidia's dramatic price hikes on its newly unveiled graphics cards
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A top complaint coming out of this week's Nvidia GTC conference is sticker shock over the company's newly unveiled 40 series graphics processing units for video gamers and creators. For reference, the 4080 and 4090 series chips start at $899 and $1,599, respectively. Put another way, if we were to adjust for inflation, a comparable 40 series price tag (think 2020 dollars) would be about $770 for the 4080 and $1,650 for the 4090. In the end, if you want the most cutting-edge chips, one thing nobody can deny is the incredible performance boost of the 40 series versus prior generations. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Loyal to the last, queen's corgis and pony watch her pass
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWINDSOR, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth's black pony Emma watched the monarch's funeral procession pass by in the grounds of Windsor Castle, where it was held on a lead by a groomsman. The queen's two corgis, Sandy and Muick, were also brought out for the arrival of the coffin at the castle, where Elizabeth was to be buried later in the day following a grand state funeral. 1/2 The royal corgis await the cortege on the day of the state funeral and burial of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, at Windsor Castle in Windsor, Britain, September 19, 2022. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/Pool Read MoreHeld on leashes by palace staff, the dogs patiently waited in the forecourt of the castle. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWriting by Alexandra Hudson and Marie-Louise Gumuchian Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ford’s new Mustang sticks with pure gasoline
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-14 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The new Mustang will be offered only with pure gasoline power, at least for now. The new Mustang will be offered with a big 5.0-liter V8 engine or a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine just as in today’s Mustang. The new Ford Mustang has the familiar shape but with a more chiseled-looking exterior design. Since then, though, Ford has introduced fully electric cars, like the Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV and the Ford F-150 Lightning pickup, as well as plug-in hybrids. Along with a 500 horsepower V8 engine, the Mustang Dark Horse will have various suspension improvements, as well as dark tinted headlight covers and other visual cues.

☆ Tencent raids its pantry ahead of lean tech times
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Aug 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Tencent (0700.HK) is preparing for tough times ahead. The Chinese giant plans to offload all or a chunk of its $24 billion stake in food delivery group Meituan (3690.HK), Reuters reported read more , citing sources. The eight-year old investment has proven lucrative: annualised total returns were nearly 20% since Meituan's 2018 Hong Kong debut, versus negative 6% for the Hang Seng Index. Nevertheless, a stock overhang — Tencent owns some 17% — sent its shares down 10% on the news. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Baidu's robotaxis don't need any human staff in these parts of China
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-08 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Chinese tech company Baidu announced Monday it can sell some robotaxi rides without any human staff in the vehicles. BEIJING — Chinese tech company Baidu said Monday it has become the first robotaxi operator in China to obtain permits for selling rides with no human driver or staff member inside the vehicles. The local government approvals allow Baidu's Apollo Go robotaxi business to eliminate the cost of human personnel in some instances. But the Chinese capital still requires human staff to sit in the robotaxi with passengers. In the U.S., Alphabet's Waymo and General Motors ' subsidiary Cruise can already run public robotaxis with no human staff in the vehicles.

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